area51novel Chapter 123 Bird Hunting and the Return Trip
Chapter 123 Bird Hunting and the Return Trip
Once the Vanguard transport ship had created some distance between itself and the flock of birds, the flagship's 76mm main guns fired a series of pre-fragmented shells at their most extreme firing angles, successfully blasting the flock of birds to pieces.
When the remaining flock of birds gathered together again, the flagship's main guns had no firing angle left, and the Vanguard transport ship had only two laser emitters left to intercept the flock in order to leave the area at maximum speed.
Back on the flagship, Lorraine and his two companions crouched at the doorway of the maintenance room, facing the black ribbon of birds in the sky. They raised their Gauss rifles and fired at the birds.
To ensure firepower efficiency, the firing rate of the twin-mounted 30mm cannons was significantly reduced, but each burst of black cloud pierced holes in the black ribbon of sky.
Nevertheless, the flock of birds continued to approach the two warships that were accelerating.
Faced with a flock of birds that had spread out, the mechanical dogs' killing efficiency and speed were also affected. The 14.5 mm steel nails that the cat fired could no longer be used to string candied hawthorns among the birds as before.
The waterjet propulsion systems on both ships were operating at full power, gradually increasing their forward speed.
When the four mechanical dogs, Tiangou, Qiexue, Xuantie, and Roy, ran out of ammunition, the gun barrels began to overheat, the battery power of the machines was about to run out, and the flock of birds in the sky had only decreased by a small portion.
Once the gun barrels had cooled down and the ammunition was loaded, they could only connect the power lines and use the transport ship's electricity to fire.
Under the impact of steel spikes and shipborne weapons, the number of birds was steadily reduced, and the birds were approaching the ship at a slower and slower pace.
The flock of birds and the two warships only came to a relative standstill when their numbers were reduced to half of what they had been after the shelling.
Only then did Lorraine relax slightly and glance at the current speed of the two ships.
"Hmm, the current speed is 40 knots. These birds can really fly."
Hearing Lorraine's sigh, Ouyang Nian relaxed a little, stretched his shoulders, and replied.
"After all, it has been enhanced by the virus, though not completely."
After a brief exchange of banter, the two men, guns raised, continued to aim at the flock of birds in the sky, firing one shot after another.
When the two ships reached a speed of 42 knots, the flock of birds continued their relentless pursuit despite the ever-increasing distance between them.
Lorraine then ordered that once the distance between the two had increased to 3 kilometers, the speed should be maintained at 40 knots, and laser weapons should be used to kill them.
As the distance between the two sides gradually increased, the Gauss rifles stopped firing, and Lorraine and the others watched as the laser weapons shot them down one by one.
For the next 15 minutes, the flock of birds was unable to advance, as two 40-knot warships flew kites over the sea.
Seeing the dwindling flock of birds, Lorraine ordered the two warships to slowly turn and prepare to return to the museum.
During the turn, the flagship's main gun was stuck at its maximum firing angle and fired another proximity-fused pre-fragmented round at the flock of birds.
After that shot, only a few birds remained in the flock.
The two warships slowly slowed down, using laser weapons to target the few remaining birds in the sky.
Once there were no more black dots flying in the sky, the speed of the two ships had just dropped to 35 knots.
When the Sea Knight reappeared in Lorraine and Platinum's sight, the two warships had already briefly docked once, and the mechanical dogs had returned to the flagship, where Ouyang Nian was maintaining them.
At this time, the Sea Knight was floating on the water. The bad news was that most of its hull was still inside the dock, but the good news was that its bow was above the water.
The flagship slowly approached the shore and lowered Platinum down. Platinum then used the boarding ladder still attached to the Sea Knight to successfully board the ship.
Subsequently, with Platinum's help, two high-strength steel cables extending from the stern of the flagship were secured to the two anchors on the port and starboard sides of the Sea Knight.
Using these two high-strength steel cables, Lorraine maneuvered the flagship and slowly pulled the Sea Knight to the surface of the sea.
After a brief inspection, the hull of the Sea Knight remained intact, but it required a comprehensive overhaul to restore its former glory.
And so, the flagship, covered in gunpowder smoke, dragged the clean and tidy Sea Knight back to the shipyard.
After sailing at a speed of 6 knots for 5 hours, Lorraine and the others finally returned to the shipyard before dark.
With the help of shipyard tugboats, it took another two hours to moor the gun cruiser in the dry dock.
After confirming that the Sea Knight would not collide with the dock, an exhausted Lorraine fell asleep immediately, completely unaware that Lin Shu had knocked on his cabin door.
Early in the morning, Lorraine dragged her still somewhat tired body out of bed.
After washing up, Lorraine, munching on an energy bar, arrived at the dock and met Guo Zhiwei and Huang Zhihui, who had come looking for him.
"You're here to ask about the handling of this ship, right?"
The two nodded, and then Guo Zhiwei first reported to Luo Lin on the current working status of the factory.
"Currently, all workers are on duty, and another Vanguard-class high-speed transport ship has entered the segmented installation phase. With the assistance of artificial intelligence, it is expected that the installation work will be completed within a month, and then it will take two weeks to complete the outfitting."
Lorraine nodded, indicating that he understood the workers' situation, and then asked about the supply reserves.
"Supplies are plentiful. According to Han Xiao's estimate, the supplies stored in the warehouse are enough to support us in returning to a state of self-sufficiency."
"Now, new seeds have been sown, and the first crop is expected to be harvested in three months."
"Great, the progress is encouraging."
Then, Lorraine looked at Huang Zhihui.
"Commander, this ship uses vapor phase preservation technology, and its weapons and shipboard equipment are well preserved. With the deployment of 30 workers, the unsealing work can be completed within two days, and the maintenance work can be completed within a week."
"However, this ship is not very modern. If you want to operate this warship at sea and fight, you need at least 70 crew members and artificial intelligence to make the ship exert its full combat power."
"Don't worry about that, just take your time to heal it."
Lacking main gun ammunition, the ship's combat endurance is also quite insufficient, but he is now studying modification plans.
After arranging the workers' tasks, Lorraine returned to the flagship to continue studying the modification plan.
Because the shells for the 152mm guns used by the Sea Knight were extremely difficult to find, Lorraine planned to replace its main guns with 155mm howitzers used by the army or 130mm guns used by the navy.
Therefore, Lorraine called over Ouyang Nian, who was researching ground vehicle modification plans, to check the feasibility of the two plans together with Cleveland.
After hearing Luo Lin's description, Ouyang Nian, who had just arrived in the driver's seat, looked at him speechlessly.
"If shells are hard to find, why did you tow this 1-ton gun cruiser back in the first place?"
"Since we currently lack satellites to guide missiles and rocket artillery for fire coverage, isn't the fastest way to increase firepower simply to acquire larger and more artillery pieces?"
Upon hearing Lorraine's idea, Ouyang Nian was unable to refute it for a moment. After thinking for a while, she said quietly.
"So, my dear Commander, have you considered how long this ship will need to be refitted?"
Upon hearing Ouyang Nian's question, beads of cold sweat appeared on Luo Lin's forehead, and she spoke with a trembling voice.
"One month? One quarter? One year?"
"It will take a full six months. If we follow your requirements, this will be no less difficult than designing a successor to this ship."
Ouyang Nian poked Luo Lin's head and said through gritted teeth.
"Do you think all ships can be modified at the same speed as your flagship?"
"It only takes 72 hours to bring about a dramatic change."
Lorraine covered his head as he dodged Ouyang Nian's attacks, calling out to Cleveland in the hopes that she could come up with a way to get him out of the predicament.
[Ms. Ouyang, based on the observed data, the flagship can enter the dock where the Sea Knight is moored and make modifications to it.]
[Including the modification of the superstructure, the total time required is 105 hours. This can be done in stages, with work able to be stopped at any time, and the flagship's combat capabilities will not be affected during the modification process.]
Cleveland lived up to Lorraine's expectations, providing a solution and operational plan.
With my intervention, maintaining the minimum combat capability of the Sea Knight requires only one gunner, a 15-man engine room, and 18 loaders.
This configuration ensures that the Sea Knight can maintain a stable and continuous output from its two bow main guns until the ammunition magazine's ammunition capacity is depleted.
Hearing this, Ouyang Nian, who had just calmed down, asked with some curiosity.
"Didn't Chief Engineer Huang say that with the assistance of artificial intelligence, a total of 70 crew members would be needed?"
Cleveland remained unusually silent for a moment when faced with Ouyang Nian's question.
I believe my statement was very clear: I only guaranteed the firepower of the two main guns at the bow.
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Nian scratched his head awkwardly, indicating that he had been angry and hadn't heard clearly.
At this moment, Lin Shu knocked on the door of the driver's cab.
"Lorraine, the expanded hydroponic farm is now in production. What are the next steps?"
"Ouyang Nian, Cleveland, the follow-up improvements to the Sea Knight are entrusted to you. Lin Shu and I will discuss the next steps."
As Lorraine pulled Lin Shu out of the cockpit, she turned back and called out.
Ouyang Nian was somewhat displeased with Luo Lin's attempt to escape, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Helplessly, he rubbed his face, wagged his tail in annoyance, and sat in front of the bridge to discuss the modification plan for the Sea Knight with Cleveland.